After a couple of losses Boise got back on track beating Spokane 6-2 of Saturday. Tayler Scott got his fourth win of the season allowing two runs, one earned in 5.1 innings pitched. Matt Iannazzo and Nathan Dorris were able to finish the game off, not allowing a run in the last 3.2 innings. Daniel Vogelbach had a great game going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Stephen Bruno also had two hits and scored three runs. Jeimer Candelario had a double and also drove in a run. It was nice to see Boise bounce back and hopefully will have continue to have a good second half.

Peoria’s first game in a long time without Javier Baez didn’t turn out too good losing to Clinton 8-1. Joseph Zeller started and struggled taking the loss. He gave up six runs, five earned on eight hits in just 3.2 innings. Just like that the Chiefs were down 6-1 and they never recovered. Chadd Krist had a really nice game at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Pin-Chieh Chen was the only other Chief to record a hit on Saturday. Larry Suarez and Bryce Shafer both pitched well, while Luis Liria got roughed up a bit. That’s now three losses in a row for Peoria, let’s see if they can end that skid tomorrow.

A six run second was way too much for Daytona losing to Dunedin 12-5. Matt Loosen started and took the loss, giving up seven runs, four earned in two innings. He wasn’t the only Cubs pitcher who struggled as Scott Weismann and Eduardo Figueroa didn’t have their best stuff either combining to give up five runs over five innings. The Cubs did have some good things happen at the plate as they scored five runs on nine hits. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Rubi Silva and Elieser Bonne each had two hits, with a run scored and an RBI. John Andreoli and Ronald Torreyes each had an RBI in the defeat. In his first game in Daytona Javier Baez went hitless. Daytona’s trying to make a push at the playoffs so they need to get back on track tomorrow.

Tennessee took the first game of Saturday’s double-header beating Jackson 6-5. The middle of the Smokies order was the key to game one’s victory as Junior Lake, Justin Bour, and Michael Burgess all had two hits and two RBIs. They combined to go 6-for-11 with six RBIs and Justin Bour hit his 13th homer of the season. The two guys at the top Matt Szczur and Logan Watkins each had a hit and a run scored as well. Nicholas Struck got the win, his 12th of the season pitching five innings allowing three runs on six hits. Frank Batista struggled a bit, but picked up his 20th save of the season.

A late rally wasn’t enough for Tennessee to pull out game 2 of the double-header. The Smokies scored four in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough losing 8-7. Casey Harman started, but only gave up one run, but lasted only three innings. Casey Weather took the loss, giving up three runs in one inning. Kevin Rhoderick continued his struggles giving up another four runs in only 1.2 innings. Justin Bour hit his second home run of the night ending game two 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs, he now has 91 on the season. Michael Brenly and Nelson Perez each added two RBIs and Brenly had two hits. Logan Watkins had one hit, walked twice, and scored three runs. All in all Tennessee ended up splitting.

Tied at one going to the bottom of the eighth, Josh Vitters and the Cubs decided they had enough of the losing. After taking the lead by 2-1, Vitters stepped to the plate and put the game out of reach launching his 17th home run of the season. Jairo Asencio would close it out as Iowa beat Colorodo Springs 5-1. Chris Rusin started and pitched well giving up only one run in on four hits in seven innings. He also struck out eight in a no decision. Michael Bowden got the win pitching a scoreless eighth. There wasn’t a ton of offense outside of Vitter home run, but there was a little bit. James Adduci went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Brett Jackson and Dave Sappelt each had a hit and a run scored.

The AZL Cubs continued their tear beating the AZL D-Backs for their fifth straight victory. It wasn’t as easy as it should have been however as the D-Backs scored five times in the ninth, but the Cubs hang on to win 7-5. Dillon Maples made his second start on his road to recovery and turned in some solid work going 1.2 innings only allowing one hit while walking two and striking out one. Paul Blackburn, one of two 2012 supplemental draft picks continued his strong season. Blackburn worked 3.1 innings allowing only one hit while walking one and striking out two to earn his second victory of the season and lower his ERA to 1.86. 2012 draft picks Corbin Hoffner and Jasvir Rakkar also worked scoreless innings. It was another night of fireworks from the AZL Cubs offense. Albert Almora, who is on fire right now, went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. Shawon Dunston, and Ben Carhart each had two hits on the night with Carhart recording his 8th double of the season. Jacob Rogers had a big night at the plate as well going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored.

The Boise Hawks raced out to a 4-0 lead, and held a 5-2 lead by the 5th inning but couldn’t hang on as Spokane plated three runs in the 8th on their way to a 6-5 win. Jose Arias didn’t get very deep into this one for the Hawks as he tossed 2.2 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out three. Arias left with the lead, but Hayden Simpson couldn’t hang onto it. Simpson worked 4.1 innings giving up three runs on six hits while striking out six. Eduardo Orozco only gave up only one run in his inning of work, but that was the deciding run as Orozco was hung with his first loss of the season. Gioskar Amaya had another solid night at the plate, what else is new? Amaya was 2-for-4 with his ninth triple of the season, an RBI, a walk, and a run scored, he is now hitting .315. Daniel Vogelbach continued to be a doubles machine as he was 1-for-3 at the plate with his 5th double while with Boise. Rock Shoulders had a productive night as well going 1-for-4 with his 6th home run of the season, a two run shot.

The Chiefs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead against Quad Cities but couldn’t hang as they fell 4-2. Yao-Lin Wang continued his transition to the starting rotation as he went 5.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out six. Wang left with the game tied at two, and unfortunately Jeffry Antigua could keep the River Bandits off the board. Antigua went 1.2 innings giving up two runs on three hits while striking out two earning his first loss of the season. Javier Baez continued his assault on Single-A pitching in the loss as he was 2-for-4 with his 12th home run of the season, he also stole his 20th base. Baez is now hitting .336 on the season, and there are whispers that he is close to earning a promotion. Zeke DeVoss had a solid night at the top of the Chiefs order going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

The D-Cubs fell behind early, and couldn’t dig out of that hole as they dropped this one to Dunedin 6-2. Kyler Burke started for the D-Cubs, and was responsible for that hole I was talking about. Burke gave up three runs in the first and then settled down after that. He went five innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out four. Hunter Cervenka had a rare awful outing as he struggled with his command in two innings of work, walking four and giving up three runs, two earned. Rubi Silva continued his strong 2012 season at the plate going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, he is now hitting .302 on the campaign. Christian Villanueva followed up his stellar Cubs debut by going 1-for-4 with a double and a spectacular catch in the field that I’m hoping to get video of shortly.

Things seem to go from bad to worse for Iowa each night. Tonight was no different as the I-Cubs battled Colorado Springs all game before surrendering three runs in the top of the ninth to lose 4-1. Ryan Rowland-Smith got the start tonight and was outstanding as he went six strong innings giving up one run on two hits while walking three and striking out six. Jaye Chapman, who was acquired from the Braves a couple of days ago took the loss as he was knocked around in the ninth. Chapman worked one inning giving up three runs on three hits while walking one, he fell to 0-1 on the season. The I-Cubs were dreadful with runners in scoring position, and they had plenty of chances too, when it was all said and done they were 0-for-10 in the loss. Josh Vitters had a big night once again for Iowa, he went 3-for-4 with his 32nd double of the season. Vitters is now hitting .304 on the season as he continues to try to force the Cubs hand and give them no choice but to award him the promotion he deserves. Dylan Heuer has some great photo’s from the game, head on over to his website to check them out!

The AZL Cubs let things get interesting in the ninth, but they held on to win 6-5. It was a good night for the highly touted prospects of the Cubs. Albert Almora was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Jorge Soler also had a double and drove in two runs on Thursday. Shawon Dunston and Jacob Rogers each had two hits with Dunston driving one run in. Anthony Prieto started and pitched two scoreless innings. He was relieved by 2012 3rd round pick Ryan McNeil who got his first professional win. McNeil struck out two in two innings of work. Jin-Young Kim came in to close things down recording the final two outs of the game and earning his second save. As much as it got close it was still good to see the Cubs get the win.

As good as Boise has been lately Thursday was not there night losing 15-1. In a game like that there just aren’t too many highlights, but we will try to find a couple. Marco Hernandez and Daniel Vogelbach each had two hits, which those four were the only hits the Hawks had all night. Vogelbach drove in his sixth run since being landing in Boise. James Pugliese got the start and took the loss, but all five runs he gave up were unearned in his five innings of work. Michael Heesch, Rafael Diplan, and Lance Rymel all struggled in relief. hopefully the Hawks can forget about this one and get back on track tomorrow.

Peoria just didn’t have enough to get the win tonight dropping Thursday’s game to Quad Cities 6-4. Starling Peralta started and took the loss in this one going five innings giving up three runs on three hits, while walking three and striking out six. The game took a turn for the worse when Justin Berg entered and he gave up three runs, unfortunately for him all were unearned in his two innings of work. Sheldon McDonald threw a scoreless ninth striking out one. After an eight RBI two home run performance how could Dustin Geiger do anything close. Well, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run staying red-hot. Bijan Rademacher and Pin-Chieh Chen each had two hits, with Chen driving in two. Oliver Zapata had a hit and an RBI and Wes Darvill hit a triple. Javier Baez had a rare rough day going 0-for-4. Peoria will look back to getting on track tomorrow.

Daytona stayed hot and won another one Thursday defeating Fort Myers 8-2. The story of the night came from newly acquired Christian Villanueva who came over in the Ryan Dempster deal. In his first two at bats in the Cubs organization he hit two home runs. He ended the night going 2-for-3 with two home runs, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Ronald Torreyes continues to just hit going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. John Andreoli, Rafael Lopez, and Timothy Saunders all had two hits a piece with Lopez driving in one. Robert Whitenack started, but didn’t last long enough to get the win, as he only allowed one run, but struggled with his control walking four. Ryan Searle got the win in relief, his fifth of the season. He struck out five in 3.1 innings allowing only one run on two hits. AJ Morris threw the last two inning allowing no runs and striking out one. Daytona is trying to make a push here as they are really playing well as of late.

Not much good came out of this one as Tennessee lost to Pensacola 6-1. Tennessee was only able to muster up two hits, both coming off the bat of Logan Watkins. Watkins ended the game 2-for-4 with a home run. In his first appearance in the Cubs organization Jacob Brigham only lasted three innings allowing three runs, two earned on five hits. He also walked three and struck out two. Zach Rosscup pitched five innings in relief allowing one run and striking out four and Tony Zych struggled in his one inning of relief. Tomorrow is a new day.

Iowa lost another losing to Colorodo Springs 7-4 on Thursday. Brooks Raley took the loss giving up six runs on 10 hits in six innings. Marcus Hatley pitched two really nice innings striking out three and not allowing a base runner. Josh Vitters and Dave Sappelt each got back on track as they both went 3-for-5. Greg Rohan followed his big day yesterday with another two hit, two RBI performance tonight. James Adduci had two more hits and drove in one run. Brett Jackson had one hit and stole his 26th base of the season. There isn’t much more that can be said for Iowa that hasn’t been said already.

The AZL Cubs had a double header on Wednesday, with each game being seven innings a piece. The pitching did a great job in the first one winning 4-0. The 43rd overall pick in this past years draft Pierce Johnson made his first appearance of the season. He started and pitched one scoreless inning. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino improved to 4-0 pitching four scoreless innings in relief. He gave up three hits, one walk, and struck out three, his ERA on the season is 0.93. Steve Perakslis secured the shutout by striking out five in two scoreless innings. Albert Almora was back in the lineup and leading off on Wednesday. He delivered going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Jorge Soler was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three stolen bases. Ben Carhart had a double and an RBI.

The AZL Cubs had a good time of it in game two as well defeating the AZL Indians 7-2. Ben Carhart was 2-for-4 with twor runs scored and Yasiel Balaguert also had two runs with a run scored. Trevor Gretzky had one hit and an RBI and Neftali Rosario collected two RBIs without getting a basehit. Albert Almora didn’t have a hit, but collected his sixth RBI of the season and Jorge Soler was 0-2, but walked twice and scored two runs. Brian Smith started for the Cubs and thew two perfect innings while striking out two. Loiger Padron improved his record to 3-0 with his win in relief. he gave up two runs, but struck out six in three innings of work. Alvido Jimenez closed out the game striking out three in two scoreless innings.

Boise was back at it and won again on Wednesday. After getting a big lead early, they gave up nine runs in the last four innings, but held on to win 14-10. There were a lot of good things happening offensively in this one. Xavier Batista was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs. Jeimer Candelario and Dong-Yub Kim each had two hits and drove in three as well. Stephen Bruno hit his first home run of the season, a two run shot in the third inning. Daniel Vogelbach and Trey Martin each two hits with Martin scoring three runs. Lance Rymel had quite a nice night going 3-for-4 with an RBI. It was a tale of two games on the mound. Su-Min Jung started and pitched well allowing one run on three hits in three innings, while striking out three. Nathan Dorris got his first win of the season as he pitched the next two scoreless innings. Unfortunately Tyler Bremer and Willengton Cruz both struggled, but a win is a win.

Peoria won a crazy one on Wednesday scoring three in the top of the ninth to win 11-10. The day belonged to Dustin Geiger. Geiger was 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs, yes eight RBIs. He stole the show early and finished it late with a two run bomb that turned out to be the game winner. Javier Baez had two more hits, including a double. He also scored two runs and drove one in. Zeke DeVoss and Pin-Chieh Chen each had two hits, with Chen scoring three. Zach Cates started and didn’t have his best stuff, but came away with a no decision. Bryce Shafer got the win striking out four of the five outs he recorded. Austin Reed picked up his first save of the season pitching a scoreless ninth. Congrats to Geiger on just an ubelievable game.

Daytona scored one in the fifth and one in the seventh to win a pitchers dual 2-1. Lendy Castillo continued his comeback throwing four innings, giving up three hits and allowing an unearned run. He had four strikeouts in the start. Eduardo Figueroa got the win, his third of the season pitching three scoreless innings. Scott Weismann and Jeffrey Lorick combined to pitch the last two innings, with Lorick earning his second save of the season. Rubi Silva was 1-for-4, but drove in the two Cubs runs on Wednesday. Ronald Torreyes continued hitting the ball going 2-for-3. John Andreoli and Taylor Davis each had two hits in the contest. It was a good win for Daytona.

Because of rain Tennessee had another double header on Wednesday. The first one was a continuation of the night before. The Smokies got two in the fifth, winning 4-2. There were a couple bright spots on the mound. Dae-Eun Rhee started and took a no-decision pitching four solid innings only allowing one run on three hits. Trey McNutt got the win in relief pitching three innings allowing one run on two hits and Kevin Rhoderick recorded his eighth save of the season striking out three in two scoreless innings. Justin Bour was 1-for-4 with another RBI. Greg Rohan went 1-for-2 with an RBI and Nate Samson was 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs.

One was all Tennessee needed as Justin Bour was the hero hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh. He now has 12 home runs and 86 RBIs on the season. Dallas Beeler started and was tremendous allowing only one hit in five scoreless innings of work. Brian Schlitter picked up his second win in relief pitching the final two frames. Junior Lake, Nelson Perez, and Matt Cerda all had one hit a piece in the victory. Two wins to start the month is the right way to start it.

Iowa was able to score six, but an eight run inning was way too much to come back from losing 11-6. We’ll start with the offense in this one. Brett Jackson was 3-for-5 with a double, triple, and a run scored. Josh Vitters hit his 16th home run of the season and had two RBIs. Greg Rohan, who was just promoted from AA was 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs. James Adduci collected two more hits including a triple and an RBI. Ty’Relle Harris got the start and took the loss as he was not very sharp. Michael Bowden did a very nice job striking out six in three innings and recently acquired Jaye Chapman threw a scoreless inning in relief.

All around it was a nice night for the Cubs minor leaguers with the only loss coming in Iowa.

Here is a recap for the month of July for the Cubs minor league system. There are a lot of players who had a good July, but I limited it to a player of the month/pitcher of the month at each level.

AZL Cubs: 21-10 (1st place)
July Record: 14-8
The Cubs had a pretty good month of July to go along with a great start to the season and they are in first place as of today. There were a lot of exciting things happening in Mesa, mainly the debut’s of both Albert Almora and Jorge Soler. There were other exciting debut’s as pitchers Dillon Maples and 2012 draftees Paul Blackburn (56 overall) and Ryan McNeil (3rd round) started there professional careers. Finally Daniel Vogelbach just crushed the ball before being promoted to Boise. He left the Cubs hitting .324 with seven home runs, 12 doubles, and 31 RBIs.

Player of the Month:Ben Carhart
The 22-year old third baseman was drafted in the 35th round of this years draft out of Stetson University. This month he hit a robust .400. with one home run, six doubles, 14 runs scored, and 12 RBIs. He slugged .550 and had an OBP of .486 bringing his OPS to 1.036.

Pitcher of the Month:Carlos Martinez-Pumarino
In his first year in the organization, the 21 year-old pitcher has been very good. This month Martinez-Pulmarino was 1-0 with a 1.15 ERA. He pitched 15.2 innings in six games, all but one out of the bullpen. He struck out 14, allowed only five hits and walked four in July.

Boise Hawks: 5-2 (1st place second half)
July Record: 12-17
Boise was off to a really rough start, but have been hot of late winning six out of their last eight and four in a row. Luckily for them the second half has just started, so as far as the second half goes they are off to a nice start.

Player of the Month:Gioskar Amaya
At only 19-years old the infielder has impressed with the bat thus far at Boise and July was no different. He hit .330 with four home runs, four triples, and three doubles. Amaya knocked in 13 and scored an impressive 24 runs while stealing six bags. He had an OBP of .407 and slugged .567 brining his OPS to .974.

Pitcher of the Month:Tayler Scott
The 20-year old starting pitcher had quite a nice July. He started six games and went 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA. In his 30 innings pitched he gave up 21 hits, walked 14, and struck out 20. Scott was drafted last year in the fifth round out of Notre Dame Prep High School in Scottsdale, AR.

Peoria Chiefs: 15-22 (7th place second half)
July Record: 12-16
July was not the best of months for the Chiefs and they will have some work to do to get back in the playoff picture. Catcher Chadd Krist came up from Boise and has continued to hit and Pin-Chieh Chen has been on quite a tear over the last couple weeks. Peoria will look to have a good August and make up a lot of ground in hopes to get back in the race.

Player of the Month:Javier Baez
Wow did the 2011 first round pick have a great month. The 19-year old shortstop hit .368 with with seven home runs, three triples, and six doubles. Baez drove in 20 runs, scored 21, and stole eight bags. His OPS for the month was 1.076 as he slugged an impressive .679 and had an OBP of .397. It was quite the month for the highly touted Cubs prospect.

Pitcher of the Month:Joseph Zeller
Zeller, 24 pitched well in July going 2-2 with a 1.65 ERA in six appearances, five starts. He pitched 32.2 innings giving up 32 hits, walking seven, and striking out 14. He isn’t a huge strikeout pitcher and he gave up a hit an inning, but it is impressive to see the ERA as low as it was in the month.

Daytona Cubs: 18-21 (5th place second half)
July Record: 12-17
Daytona didn’t have their best month, but there were some highlights to go along with the disappointing record. Matt Szczur was promoted to Tennessee after Jae-Hoon Ha was injured. Szczur had been one of Daytona’s most consistent performers throughout the year and it will take some adjustments for them to get back on track without him. The Cubs will have to make up a lot of ground in August as they sit six games back going into today.

Player of the Month:Ronald Torreyes
At only 19-years old the second baseman is starting to really hit. After a disappointing first couple months Torreyes had a very good June and followed it with a nice July. He hit .333 with one home run, two triples, and seven doubles. He also drove in 18, scored 16, and stole seven bases. Torreyes was brought over in the Sean Marshall deal.

Pitcher of the Month:Matt Loosen
Loosen went 4-1 in six starts in July. He had an ERA of 3.08 throwing 38 innings, giving up 26 hits, walking 13, and striking out 35.

Tennessee Smokies: 17-20 (4th place second half)
July Record: 12-16
A sub .500 record in July wasn’t what the Smokies were looking for as they currently are 5.5 games behind the division leader. The month was highlighted when Matt Szczur was promoted to Tennessee. The reason he was promoted was because of an unfortunate accident when Jae-Hoon Ha got a concussion. The Smokies need to got hot in order to make a run at the division.

Player of the Month: Justin Bour
The 24-year old first baseman has had a good season and July was no different. He hit .337 with four home run and eight double. Bour drove in an impressive 25 runs which brings him to 84 on the season. He slugged .529 and had an OBP of .381 with an OBP of .909. It will be fun to watch Bour’s pursuit of 100 RBIs.

Pitcher of the Month: Eric Jokisch
Jokisch, 23 was 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five July starts. In 28 innings pitched he struck out 2o, walked eight, and surrendered 21 hits. We all know the Cubs system is light on arms, but Jokisch has had a pretty good season up to this point.

Iowa Cubs: 42-69 (Last place)
July Record: 8-20
Things don’t get much worse than an 8-20 month, but maybe it is when August is starting and you are 24 games back. It was going to be tough when Rizzo was brought up, but I don’t think anyone was expecting a month like this. There weren’t too many bright spots, but there were some. Josh Vitters had a good month, not great, but good. James Adduci came up from Tennessee and did well in the 18 games he played in compiling and OPS of .999. All Iowa can hope for now is to end the season on a high note.

Player of the Month:Dave Sappelt
The 25-year old outfielder had his best month since coming over from Reds. Sappelt hit .317 in July hitting one home run, one triple, and eight doubles. He scored 16 runs and drove in 12 while stealing eight bases. He got on base at a .368 clip and slugged .442. It was nice to see Sappelt have a good month and my guess is we will see him in Chicago at some point this season.

Pitcher of the Month:Esmailin Caridad
I bet you didn’t expect to hear that name again, but he had quite an impressive month. In 18.2 innings Caridad gave up 14 hits, walked 7, and struck out 22 as his ERA stands at 0.92 for the month of July. if Caridad can continue we might see him again in big leagues.

It wasn’t the best month for the Cubs farm system, but there were some good things as well as some really exciting things. There were a lot of hitters and pitchers who could have been included and narrowing it down to only one per level was tough. Hope you like it.

Thanks for playing Casey. One day after getting rocked in the first inning then settling down, Casey Coleman is going back down to Iowa. Coleman wasn’t awful yesterday, but the Cubs need fresh bodies at this point.

The good news? Alberto Cabrera is getting called up to the Cubs! I’ve been really high on this guy for a while now, and he is now getting his shot. Cabrera is a strike out guy, who doesn’t walk many, what’s not to like? He has struggled a bit lately, as he has been getting knocked around. The important thing for me here is that he isn’t walking guys, so I think he will straighten it out sooner than later.

Try not to get too excited Cubs fans, Chris Volstad has been recalled by the Cubs who are in need of an extra arm. Volstad has gone back and forth between Chicago and Iowa all season, but his stuff has remained at Iowa level all year.

The AZL Cubs got back on track after a day off beating the AZL Royals 8-2. Ben Carhart and Daniel Lockhart each had two, a run scored, and an RBI. Jacob Rogers was 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Albert Almora was leading off tonight, but left after his first at-bat. He was replaced by Yasiel Balaguert who had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Jorge Soler did not have a hit, but he did drive in his seventh run of the season and he stole his third base. Carl Lang got the start and pitched an impressive four innings allowing no runs on four hits and struck out four. Jasvis Rakkar pitched one scoreless inning striking out one. Ethan Elias got the win, but did not have a great night giving up two runs on five hits in two innings. Daniel Adrian finished the game off striking out two in the last two frames. Obviously we are a bit concerned as to why Almora left the game. When we have an update we will let you know, but it was a nice night for the Cubs.

After winning a few 1-0 games the Boise Chiefs held on to win a shootout 10-9. It was a wild game as Boise had a big lead, but gave it up and had to win in walk-off fashion. The Cubs had a few nice nights at the plate highlighted by Daniel Vogelbach‘s first home run at Boise, a three run shot with two outs in the third. Stephen Bruno had three hits and two RBIs, raising his average to .324. Jeimer Candelario was the hero going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs including a walk-off double. Dong-Yub Kim and Trey Martin each had two hits on the night and Marco Hernandez connected for his third home run of the season. The Hawks pitching struggled most of the night, but the offense did the the job. Eduardo Orozco blew a save, but ended up getting his second win of the season. it is nice to see Boise maybe turning things around.

Peoria never got things going against Quad Cities losing 5-1. Michael Jensen got the start and pitched pretty good, although he took the loss. He pitched five innings surrendering two runs on three hits, while striking out six. Jeffry Antigua continued to impress pitching two more scoreless innings. Pete Levitt struggled in his one inning of work. There wasn’t much excitement at the plate for the Chiefs on Tuesday. Javier Baez was one of the few bright spots going 2-for-4 with the Peoria’s lone run scored. Bijan Rademacher also had two hits including his third double of the season. Nothing too exciting happening for Boise tonight.

Daytona won a close one on Tuesday beating Fort Myers 5-4. Daytona pounded out 14 hits so there were a lot of nice nights at the plate. It was good to see Timothy Saunders get back on track going 3-for-4 with double, runs scored, and an RBI. Ronald Torreyes continued his hot stretch of late adding two more hits, including his 19th double of the season and two RBIs. Matt Cerda, Rubi Silva, and John Andreoli each had two hits with Andreoli driving one run in. Austin Kirk started and got the win allowing four runs in five innings. Kirk was not as sharp as he has been in the past walking five batters, but he did strike out five. The relief was outstanding on Tuesday. Hunter Cervenka and Jeffrey Lorick combined to pitch three scoreless innings, striking out a batter each. AJ Morris closed the deal striking out two in one scoreless inning, notching his fourth save of the season.

****

Tennessee’s game was suspended because of rain. The Smokies were winning 2-1 in the fourth and will be continued tomorrow as part of a double header.

Iowa dropped another to New Orleans losing Tuesday 5-3. Frankie De La Cruz started and took the loss giving up three runs in four innings. Jairo Asencio and Marcus Hatley did a nice job in relief both throwing a scoress inning. Dave Sappelt was the main bright spot for the Cubs offense going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Brett Jackson hit his 21st double of the season and drove in his 46th run as well. James Adduci had another hit and is hitting .375 since his promotion to Triple-A. As I have said recently Iowa just can’t seem to get things going in the right direction.

Beloit scored three in the eighth and held on to beat Peoria 5-3. Pin-Chieh Chen had a great game going 4-for-5 with an RBI. Zeke DeVoss led the game off in style with a home run, he added another hit and ended the game with two runs scored, two RBIs, and his 29th stolen base. Javier Baez and Dustin Geiger each added a double and Bijan Rademacher had a triple on the night. Chadd Krist also had a hit and he is now hitting .340. Joseph Zeller got the start, but did not factor in the decision giving up two runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Sheldon McDonald got the loss and Austin Reed pitched two scoreless innings in relief. The Chiefs record now stands at 50-55.

Daytona got a little scare in the ninth, but still won pretty easily 8-4. The Cubs pounded out 14 hits including three from Rubi Silva. Ronald Torreyes continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored, and two RBIs. John Andreoli also had two hits and reached base four times from the leadoff spot. he also scored a run and stole his 41st base of the season. Rafael Lopez, Elieser Bonne, and Matt Cerda all had two hits and an RBI. PJ Francescon got his second win of the season pitching six shutout innings. He only gave up three hits and struck out six. Frank Del Valle was very good in relief striking out four in just two innings.

Tennessee got off to a good start in game one scoring five runs and holding on to win 6-3. Matt Szczur had his best game since moving to Double-A going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Junior Lake stayed hot at the plate going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Logan Watkins and Michael Burgess each had two hits and Justin Bour drove one in. Greg Rohan connected on his fifth home run, a three run shot in the first inning. Eric Jokisch pitched all seven innings gving up three runs on five hits and striking out two.

Tennessee won the second game of the double header beating Pensacola 3-2. Nate Samson was the only Smokies player to have a multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Juan Apodaca and Michael Burgess each had a hit as did Dustin Harrington and Nelson Perez. Matt Szczur drove in a run in game two. Casey Harman got the start and pitched well allowing no runs on four hits in four innings pitched. Casey Weathers got the win pitching a scoreless fifth innings striking out two. Frank Batista recored his 19th save of the season as he closed out game two on Monday.

The Iowa Cubs lost another one on Monday losing to New Orleans 5-3. James Adduci had another great game, going 2-for-5 with a home run, double, run scored, and three RBIs. Dave Sappelt also had two hits and scored a run. Chris Rusin took the loss pitching 5.2 innings surrendering five runs, only one earned and struck out six. Alberto Cabrera had a nice night in relief striking out four in 2.1 innings. Iowa just can’t seem to get it together.

The AZL Cubs lost to the AZL Reds 7-3. Dillon Maples made his much anticipated debut on Sunday, giving up one run in one pitched. He stuggled with his command walking two and throwing a wild pitch, but struck out one and got out of a tough jam with a double play. Paul Blackburn pitched 2.1 innings, giving up two hits, no runs, and striking out two. Chad Martin took the loss, giving up three runs in his one inning of work. Our nightly watch of Albert Almora and Jorge Soler was on again. Almora went 1-for-4 and Soler was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Trevor Gretzky and Carlos Penalver each had two hits with Penalver driving one in. Daniel Lockhart also had an RBI.

Boise got one in the third, which proved to be enough beating Tri-City 1-0. Ian Dickson started and pitched weel allowing no runs on three hits in five innings pitched. He also walked two and struck four. Hunter Ackerman was outstanding in relief picking up his first save. He struck out six in just four innings and allowed only one hit. Gioskar Amaya hit his fifth home run of the year and ended the day 2-for-3. Rock Shoulder also had two hits, including a double and after a slow start his average is now up to .271. Jeimer Candelario added a hit and Marco Hernadnez had a double in the game as well. Lets hope the pitching continues down this path as that is two 1-0 wins in a row.

Peoria scored nine in the first three innings and held on to beat Beloit 10-6. The offense led the way in this one. Dustin Geiger was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Pin-Chieh Chen was 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Unbelievably, Javier Baez only had one hit, but he did drive in two and score one. Wes Darvill also had two hits and drove a run in and Chadd Krist also had an RBI. Larry Suarez got the win in relief for Peoria striking out three in 1.2 innings pitched and Bryce Shafer closed out the game pitching a scoreless ninth. Lets see if Peoria can keep playing well going forward.

A six run fifth helped Daytona win this shootout 12-7. The Cubs had a lot of nice games at the plate on Sunday. Ronald Torreyes went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Rafael Lopez had two hits, including his second home run of the season. Elieser Bonne was 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Leadoff man John Andreoli had two hits, stole three bases (40), and scored three runs. Matt Loosen wasn’t at his on Sunday, but it was good enough for him to improve his record to 10-3. He gave up five runs, four earned on six hits in five innings pitched. AJ Morris recorded his third save pitching a scoreless last 1.2 innings. Good to see Daytona hitting the ball and Matt Loosen get to the 10-win mark.

Leading by one in the bottom of the ninth, Iowa gave up one there and then gave up three in the bottom of the 10th to lose 6-3. James Adduci continues to hit the ball going 3-for-5 on Sunday. Welington Castillo was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer on, his sixth of the season. Adrian Cardenas and Josh Vitters each had a hit. Brett Jackson didn’t have any hits, but he did walk and steal a base, his 24th of the season. Rodrigo Lopez actually pitched well going five innings and allowing only two runs, one earned on five hits, while striking out five. After Ryan Rowland-Smith and Esmailin Caridad pitched the next three scoreless innings the rest of the bullpen blew it. Michael Bowden gave up the run in the ninth and Jay Jackson took the loss giving up a three run homer in the tenth. It’s just not going well for Iowa, finding different ways to lose almost every night.

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.